Locomotive-boiler furnace.



C. B. MOORE.

LOCOMOTIVE BOILER FURNACE. APPucAhoM min Die. 18. I911.

1,138,034; Patented May 4, 1915.

I 9 a c '6 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES B. MOORE, OF EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO AMERICAN ARCH COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF DELA- WARE.

Application filed December 18, 1911.

locomotive boiler furnaces and has special reference to refractory baffles or deflecting walls sometimes called arches for the fireboxes of locomotive boilers.

The general objects of my invention are to provide an arch which can be easily and quickly installed in a locomotive boiler firebox, which is equipped with arch tubes; to provide an arch which will be of comparatively light weight and low cost; to provide an arch which shall be easy to repair and parts of which may be removed to afford easy access to the fireboxfsides and flue sheet; and to provide an arch of a form that will materially assist in admixing and igniting the firebox gases and other combustibles. he special object of my invention is to provide an arch of the character here outlined, one part of which will not wear out in advance of another part, but in which each part or portion will, in a practical sense, he as long.lived as every other part, notwithstanding that different portions of the arch are subjected to different degrees of abrasion or wear.

My' invention consists in the proportions,

assemblages and arrangements of parts and.

the features of construction by which the above objects are attained, together with others hereinafter appearing and all as hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims; and it will be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and inwhich:

Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal central sectional view of a firebox equipped with an arch which in the preferred form embodies my invention; Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view of the firebox showing a top plan view of the arch and taken on the line 22 of Fig.'l;--Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section of thefirebox on the line 33 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a 'etail sectional view of the arch on th ne 4-4 of Fig. l; and Figs. 5 and 6 Specification of Letters Patent.

LOCOMOTIVE-BOILER FURNACE.

Patented May 4, 1915.

Serial No. 666,339.

are views similar to Fig. 4 but showing slight modification of the arch structure.

My invention may be embodied in arches of varying details of construction and location in the firebox. I have herein confined the illustration of the invention to so-called refractory front arches which extend from side to side of the firebox and substantially abut the flue sheet, but desire that it shall be understood that my invention is not limited to this specific form and location of arch. A locomotive firebox, as shown in the drawings, is made up of a flue sheet 2, side sheets 3.3, a crown sheet 4 and a rear sheet 5. The firebox is equipped with the grate 6. Flues 7 lead forward from the flue sheet 2 and the rear sheet 5 is provided with a fuel door or opening 8. The firebox as shown is equipped with a plurality of circulating or arch tubes 9, the same being inclined rearwardly and upwardly in the firebox extending from the lower portion of the flue sheet to the upper portion of the rear sheet and serving to increase the circulation of water in the boiler between the front and rear water legs. I

A so-called front arch usually occupies an inclined position in the front part of the firebox, its lower end closely approaching or being in contact with the lower portion of the flue sheet. The office of the arch is to prevent the direct flow of gases of combustion from the grate to the flues and to cause them to flow baclnvard and forward in the fire-box, thus not only retaining them a sutlicient time in the fire-box for complete combustion to take place but also to effect an even distribution of the heat of combustion to the whole interior surface of the firebox and particularly to distribute the heat throughout the length of the crown.v

her particles tends to wear away the arch on its under surface, thereby reducing its thickness and shortening its life. The lines of travel of the gases of combustion in the firebox due to the shape of the fire-box and the strength of the draft causes ,this abrasive or wearing action to be uneven in its effect upon the arch, the result being that the arch wears to a greater extent in some portions than in others.

A particular object of my invention is to provide an arch, the various portions of which are so formed and assembled that this excessive wear in some portions is provided for with the result that the arch as a whole gives out evenly throughout substantially its whole area. To this end, I build my arches of a number of individual bricks having different thicknesses and so relate these various individual bricks to each other and to the arch that the thicker or heavier bricks or portions are placed in the line of greatest wear or abrasion and the thickness of the arch is graduated therefrom to the portion receiving the least amount of wear, thus forming an arch having a thickness in its various portions graduated or proportioned to the degree of abrasion or wear. Usually that portion of the arch midway between the side sheets is subjected to the most excessive abrasion and I therefore usually construct my arch with.

the middle portion heavier or thicker than the side portions and gradually decrease the thickness from the middle line of the arch to the sides thereof. As before stated, the special feature of my arch resides in a refractory arch which is built or made up of a plurality of individual bricks. Each of these bricks is of a convenient size or weight to be readily handled and placed in position, but is preferably not so large but that it can be readily passed through the fuel door into the firebox. These bricks are formed to span from tube to tube and are made of such length that they rest upon two adjacent tubes and are preferably formed at their ends sr that the body of the brick dependsbetween the tubes and the back is held thereby against lateral displacement in the firebox. The arch being made or built up of individual bricks it can be readily repaired by the removal of any one brick or any portion of the arch and the substitution therefor of new bricks.

I usually arrange the bricks in a plurality of transverse rows each row includ ing several of the arch bricks and com prising a center brick a, two intermediate bricks I) and end or side bricks c. The similar bricks 0 and l) of the various transverse rows or spans of brick form longitudinal rows of brick each thereof. arranged between and resting upon a pair cl the circulating tubes 9. The bricks (2 of the variout transverse rows rest upon the outer to lock the arch as a Whole against lateral movement in the firebox. The various bricks of ti e arch are provided with gas mixing pockets or cavities on their under faces. The cavities a in the bricks a being comparatively shallow, the cavities b in the bricks I) being somewhat deeper and the cavities 0 in the bricks 0 being the deepest of all. I arrange these bricks in the manner stated, that is, with the thicker bricks a in the middle of the arch and the thinnest bricks at the sides for the reason that the middle portion of the arch is subjected to the greatest abrasive action and consequently, although the bricks arranged at the middle of the arch'sustain the greatest wear, they are in a practical sense'as long lived as the bricks at the ides of the arch and the arch as a whole being proportioned in the thickness to the abrasive action, one portion does not consequentlywear out in advance of another portion. The cavities in'the various bricks add to the efl'ectiveness of the arch in commingling and admixing the firebox gases, as the whole under surface of the arch is thereby provided with a plurality of gas deflecting surfaces, arranged in various planes.

It will be readily seen with the use of my system of building arches that the thickness of the arch can easily be proportioned throughout its extent in relation to the action of the firebox gases in the particular locomotive in which the arch is being constructed or installed. That is to say, while I have illustrated my invention as provided with an arch which is thickest along a middle line and is of the same thickness throughout this middle line, it will be readily understood that the proportionate thickness on this line may be varied or the grad uation of the thickness on transverse lines of the arch may be varied from that shown, in o der to provide an arch for the particular installation which will be of equal life throughout its extent.

Sometimes I prefer to omit the pocket from the middle line of the arch or from bricks a and I have illustrated such a construction in Fig. 5. particularly adapted for furnaces in which the abrasive action along the middle of the arch is very excessive. tions. or in some installations, it is not desirable to have the lower surface of the arch provided with gas mixing pockets, but for purposes of economy and that the arch may be so proportioned that any one part of it Under some eondi- I This construction is will not wear or give out in advance of any other part to meet the above conditions, I provide the various bricks of the arch with depressions or cavities in their upper surfaces, leavingthe lower surfaces of the various bricks fiat or plain. I have illustrated such a construction in Fig. 6 in which the center or middle brick a is shown as not being provided with any cavity either above 10 or below and the bricks b and 0 are provided with cavities in their upper surfaces proportioned as in the preferred form.

I In allof the various modifications illustrated the idea is preserved of providing an arch. graduated in thickness from the middle to the sides. As it has been found that this arrangement of graduated thickness fulfils the desired result of providing an arch the life of which is practically equal throughout 2 itsarea.

The bricks are preferably formed with their transversely abutting ends each grooved or socketed on the lower corner to fit the corresponding tube, and beveled on 25. the upper corner to provide a slight space between bricks to prevent fusingtogether.

As many modifications of my invention will readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art, I do not confine or limit E Tny invention to the specific structures herein illustrated and described.

'Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A locomotive boiler firebox in combination with a body of refractory material therein arranged between the grate and the flues, said body being of greatest thickness along the longitudinal medial line and of graduated thickness between its medial line 'and lateral edges and provided with recesses which vary in depth proportionately to the thickness of the arch, substantially as described.

2. A locomotive boiler firebox containing a plurality of arch tubes, in combination with a refractory body resting upon said tubes and composed of a plurality of individual bricks, said bricks being provided with cavities or pockets which vary in depth proportionately to the distance from the side of the firebox, substantially as described.

3. A locomotive boiler firebox containing a plurality of arch supporting tubes, in combination witha plurality of transverse rows of arch bricks supported by said tubes, said rows extending from side to side in the firebox and arranged close together upon the tubes, said bricks being provided with gasmixing pockets in their undersides, the pockets of the bricks in each row being of greatest depth at the ends of the row and lessening in depth toward the middle thereof, substantially as described.

least thickness along its lateral edges, and of,

pockets in the bricks in each row being" graduated in depth from the middle toward the ends of the row and being of least depth at the center of the row, substantially as described.

5. A locomotive boiler firebox containing a plurality of inclined arch tubes, in combination with a plurality of transverse rows of refractory bricks supported by and extending between said tubes, the undersides of said bricks being'provided with gas-mixing cavities, the cavities in the bricks of each row being of greater depth toward the ends of the row than at the middle thereof, substantially as described.

6. -A locomotive boiler firebox containing a plurality of inclined arch tubes, in combination with a plurality of transverse rows of refractor bricks, said rows being arranged side iiy side upon saidtubes and extending substantially from side to side of the firebox,- each of said bricks being provided on its under side with a gas-mixing pocket having inclined side walls adapted to deflect the gases of combustion at various angles through the firebox, .the'depth of the cavities in individual bricks being ro-' portioned to the distance of the brick 50m the longitudinal medial line of the firebox,

substantially as described.

7. A locomotive boiler firebox containing a plurality of inclined arch tubes, in combination with a plurality of transverse rows of refractory bricks arranged side by side in the firebox supported by and. extending between said tubes, each of said bricks having a body portion provided with a dependent marginalrib and the depth of the ribs and the thickness of the body portions being proportioned to the distance of the brick tfrom the longitudinal medial line of the fire- 8. A locomotive boiler" firebox having a plurality of inclined arch tubes arranged substantially in a single plane, in combination with a refractory front arch supported by said tubes, said arch comprising a plurality of transverse rows of bricks each thereof having a body portion surrounded by a dependent marginal rib and which rest upon, are supported by and dependent between said tubes, the under surfaces of the body portionsof said bricks being positioned vertically relatively to the plane of said tubes proportioned. to their distance from the sides of,'the firebox.

9. A locomotive boiler having a plurality of inclined arch tubes, in combination with a refractory front arch supported by said tubes, said arch comprising a plurality of transverse rows of bricks, each thereof comprising a body portion surrounded by a marginal rib and which rest upon, are supported by and depend between said tubes, the under surface of the body portions of the bricks in each row being arranged at difierent heights relatively to the tubes upon which they rest.

10. A locomotive boiler having a plurality of inclined arch tubes, in combination with a refractory front arch supported by said tubes, said arch comprising a plurality of transverse rows of bricks, each thereof having a relatively large shallow recess in its underside, which'rest upon, are supported by and depend between said tubes, the tops of said recesses in each row being arranged at different heights relatively to saidtubes, and

those of the'centeror middle bricks being arranged lower than those of the end bricks.

11. A locomotive boiler firebox containing a plurality of inclined arch-supporting tubes arranged longitudinally therein, in combination with a plurality of longitudinal rows of fire bricks closing the spaces between, resting at their ends upon, and supported by said tubes, the bricks of each row being substantially identical in form with each other, and the bricks of some rows having gas-mixing pockets of greater depth than other rows, whereby the arch varies in thickness from side to side.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, this 5th day of December, 1911, inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES B. MOORE.

Witnesses:

CHARLES GILBERT HAWLEY, EDWARD F. WILSON. 

